Chip Chap Users Can Now Buy Bitcoin at 5,000 Mexican Stores

Bitcoin users can now buy bitcoin at any of 5,000 vendors in Mexico using Chip Chap the “e-money converter.”

A full list of Mexican vendors, which range from La Mission to 7-Eleven, can be found on the Paynet website. Users generate a barcode using Chip Chap and then the app will lead them to the closest shop to redeem their bitcoins.

Chip Chap supports a range of payment systems and vouchers, such as Bitcoin, Ukash, or Paynet. A smartphone and a connection is all that's required to make the conversions between them. So far, the app supports payment systems that work in Spain, France, England, and Mexico. Chip Chap can be used at a total of 400,000 stores worldwide—stores that accept any of the payment systems. Furthermore, these vouchers don't require a bank account or a credit card to use, giving users pseudo-privacy.

In Spain and Poland, once users have converted into their payment system of choice, the Android app leverages a network of existing ATMs that accept the vouchers, so that users can cash out of bitcoin at the ATMs. That's one reason Darkwallet recently partnered up with the app.

Chip Chap also recently unveiled an API so that developers can integrate their own programs for their own projects, from shops to exchanges. Some of the links on the developers’ website, such as the internal API, are not open to the public. Users may need to email Chip Chap for credentials. Chip Chap has developed three apps of its own using the programming tools, but it's unclear whether other apps have yet to explore the service.

Finally, the company launched the first Bitcoin ATM in Castello, Spain, where Chip Chap and its incubator Entropy Factory reside. Entropy Factory is a patchwork incubator that invests in a range of technology companies in addition to Chip Chap, such as Sindacato Robot and Fairtoearth. Incubator companies can come live in the community, a decentralized community with housing that stretches across the Spanish village. They're then equipped with advertising and a workplace in the collaborative environment. They've come to terms with the town council to permit Chip Chap payments across the city.

Chip Chap is perhaps best-known for partnering with Darkwallet to provide a relatively anonymous way of cashing out of bitcoin directly through the Alpha 8 version of the wallet. The company is currently on the hunt for investors and claims to have other announcements coming soon.